A focused GDPR audit shows you where your compliance gaps are, ranks them by risk, and gives you a roadmap to fix what matters first.
What you get:
- A prioritized gap assessment with clear severity levels
- Data mapping and RoPA reviewed against what you actually do
- DSAR, breach response, and consent readiness checked
Key takeaways
- A GDPR audit shows where your compliance gaps are and ranks them by risk.
- It produces a prioritized roadmap to fix what matters first.
- Scope and pricing are set to your situation.
- Engage Compliance runs the audit and then stays on as DPO to close the findings.
Why companies need a GDPR audit
Most tech companies have some privacy documentation. The problem is they don’t know what’s missing until a customer asks for it, an investor questions it, or a regulator comes knocking.
A GDPR audit answers the question: where are we actually at, and what do we need to fix first?
Experience across 100+ startups and enterprises, including Amazon, Coinbase, Robinhood, Fanatics, Medtronic, AbbVie, IKEA, Nestle and Hopin. The patterns are consistent, from 5-person startups to large companies. Most companies overestimate their compliance and underestimate the gaps that matter most commercially. If you need to review the whole program rather than GDPR alone, the privacy program audit page explains how that works.
For a quick self-check before a full audit, start with our GDPR readiness checklist. A GDPR audit is one part of our broader data privacy solutions.
What does a GDPR audit cover?
Data inventory and mapping: what personal data you collect, where it goes, who processes it, and what legal basis applies for each activity.
Documentation review: privacy policies, cookie notices, DPAs, RoPA, DPIAs, breach response plans, data subject request processes. We check what exists, what’s missing, and what’s outdated.
Vendor and sub-processor assessment: who has access to your data, whether DPAs are in place, and whether your vendor risk management is adequate.
Technical controls review: access controls, encryption, retention practices, data minimization, logging. We assess whether your technical measures match your documented policies.
Cross-border data transfers: whether your international data transfers have appropriate safeguards (SCCs, TIAs, adequacy decisions).
Cookie and consent compliance: whether your consent mechanisms meet GDPR and ePrivacy requirements.
AI and automated processing: if applicable, whether AI/ML features have appropriate DPIAs, transparency documentation, and EU AI Act readiness.
What you get
A prioritized gap report with clear severity levels (critical, high, medium, low). Not a 200-page document nobody reads. A practical roadmap you can act on immediately.
Typical deliverables include a compliance maturity scorecard, prioritized remediation plan, estimated timeline and resource requirements for each gap, and a recommended phasing (what to fix now vs what can wait).
How much does a GDPR audit cost?
Most GDPR audits for tech companies complete in 2-3 weeks (though you can get this done in 2-3 days with Engage). The scope depends on your company size, data complexity, and how many jurisdictions you operate in.
Audit pricing is project-based and scoped individually. Many companies combine the audit with ongoing DPO services, starting From €1,000 per month after the initial audit.
An audit often leads to an appointment, and our data protection officer services page explains how that works.
Sources and references
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), official text, EUR-Lex
- Article 29 Working Party Guidelines on Data Protection Impact Assessment (WP248 rev.01), endorsed by the EDPB, European Commission (Article 29 Working Party archive)
- EDPB Guidelines 01/2022 on data subject rights: right of access, European Data Protection Board
- EDPB Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under Regulation 2016/679, European Data Protection Board
- EDPB Guidelines 2/2023 on the technical scope of Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive, European Data Protection Board
- EDPB Guidelines 9/2022 on personal data breach notification under the GDPR, European Data Protection Board
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC), European Commission